Speculation: The Cap has ruined hockey for fans

[WaitingForUser]

How much time do we as fans spend fight each other over certain players salaries? The answer is a hell of a lot. Before the cap became a thing on the NHL the average fan would pipe in that so and so makes to much money but as long as they play well who cares. Now because we have fans that just won’t let anything go if a player is in their eyes overpaid we spend a majority of time discussing what said player gets paid rather than discussing if they can help the team win. Nobody would care if Keith for instance made 1.5 million they would just be happy we have a first ballot HOF on our team. Same goes with Nurse before his contract was signed everyone was praising him and saying how he had taken the next step and become a true number one d man. Fast forward to after the deal and now a large majority of fans say to much money should have traded him or made him repeat this years success before re signing him. This is because as fans we look at the salty first and the results second. The cap has destroyed hockey for us fans. What are the thoughts on this observation?

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[Beerfish]

No the cap is not the issue, rules for the cap and things like no trade clauses and loop holes in the cap are the issue.

How soon we forget a time when our good players left because other teams had no cap.

 

[ohheyhemsky]

No the cap is not the issue, rules for the cap and things like no trade clauses and loop holes in the cap are the issue.

How soon we forget a time when our good players left because other teams had no cap.

Agreed.

As an NHL fanbase located in Edmonton, Alberta Canada - we really don't have the right to dissent to a cap.

 

[82Ninety42011]

The cap has brought parity and hopes that anyone can build a championship team. If there was no cap the big market teams would take all the stars again and now that the UFA age limit is way lower good luck to the small market teams without a cap.

 

[WaitingForUser]

No the cap is not the issue, rules for the cap and things like no trade clauses and loop holes in the cap are the issue.

How soon we forget a time when our good players left because other teams had no cap.

See that’s just the thing though we were so far behind other teams before the cap because we couldn’t afford to keep our stars. The cap should have evened the playing field and for the first 4 years or so it did. But now we have a billionaire owner willing to spend to the cap every year and we are still unable to ice a balanced team. It goes both ways but I truly believe fans would not be so hard on players if the cap was not a thing.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

No the cap is not the issue, rules for the cap and things like no trade clauses and loop holes in the cap are the issue.

How soon we forget a time when our good players left because other teams had no cap.

You think Tampa sucks now? No cap, dear gawd it would be atrocious.

 

[ohheyhemsky]

The thing the NHL needs to do is create an equivalency to state/provincial taxes to even the playing field.

 

[WaitingForUser]

The cap has brought parity and hopes that anyone can build a championship team. If there was no cap the big market teams would take all the stars again and now that the UFA age limit is way lower good luck to the small market teams without a cap.

Has it really brought parity to the league though? Instead of NYR Detroit and teams like that taking all the stars now it’s TB VGK and other teams with low state taxes taking all of them. Not really that much different IMO.

 

[Little Fury]

See that’s just the thing though we were so far behind other teams before the cap because we couldn’t afford to keep our stars. The cap should have evened the playing field and for the first 4 years or so it did. But now we have a billionaire owner willing to spend to the cap every year and we are still unable to ice a balanced team. It goes both ways but I truly believe fans would not be so hard on players if the cap was not a thing.

I'd rather have a team that can afford Connor McDavid than one where we could not because some other team could offer him way more money.

 

[MettleMcOiler]

It's fun to discuss it and try to find solutions to the remaining cap but when people start to take it personally, as if it was there own money, degrading the player, trying to find fault on how " worthy" they are of the contract. That is the time to walk away.
The cap is only causing problems for fans because they make it their problem even though they have no way to solve it in any tangible way.
So they cause their own mental anguish because of it.
But, if they want to be miserable, let them be miserable. Walk away and don't get involve in the toxic discussions that doesn't solve anything at end of the day.
Happy for the players and get ready to watch some hockey in a couple months!

 

[Drivesaitl]

If by cap one means that the cap is so damn high and that the same nature of star players are making 12M now instead of the 1M Gretzky was making then yeah, it ruined the game, and essentially because tickets now cost several times as much, to see essentially the same product and quality of players. Wait, the 80's Oilers that were costing me around 17bucks a ticket were a better team and of course far better value.

NFL is worse. Soccer is worse. Pro sports used to be geared to working class tastes and pricepoints. Its for those that don't ever have to ask what the price is now, and who can pay any price.

But as far as competitive cap @Beerfish already noted that Oilers would have even more trouble being a competitive club in non cap times.

I do think that when pro sports started revealing salaries and increasingly looking for funded arenas to pay for their hedge out of control largesse that it forced fans to have to ponder business side that much more and while its interesting it does take away from just the love of the game. So that capology, free agency pricing, cap space, solid asset accrual and investment, has arguably become more important than the players on the ice.

 

[WaitingForUser]

If by cap one means that the cap is so damn high and that the same nature of star players are making 12M now instead of the 1M Gretzky was making then yeah, it ruined the game, and essentially because tickets now cost several times as much, to see essentially the same product and quality of players. Wait, the 80's Oilers that were costing me around 17bucks a ticket were a better team and of course far better value.

NFL is worse. Soccer is worse. Pro sports used to be geared to working class tastes and pricepoints. Its for those that don't ever have to ask what the price is now, and who can pay any price.

But as far as competitive cap @Beerfish already noted that Oilers would have even more trouble being a competitive club in non cap times.[/QUO B TE]
All very good points I’m just referring to this strictly looking at the fans though. We were always hard on players BBC in Edmonton regarding the results on the ice. This was fair game if you aren’t trying then you deserve all the criticism. But now I feel we look more at the money they make than the results they produce. We even have people saying that it’s McDrais fault we have no cap room and suggesting both are greedy and overpaid. That if they didn’t demand so much money we would have far more cap room. These are two of the best players in the world and people still argue they make to much. From purely a fans point of view I believe the cap has caused us to look to much at money and not at what the player provides to the team.

 

[Spawn]

I actually enjoy the cap as a fan. It's fun trying to puzzle it all out. I like that teams have to try to put together a roster within a certain limit and end up in scenarios where they need to make sacrifices in one area to address another. Adds an extra layer to it all.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

It isn't the cap, it's the irresponsible GMs who don't take it into account.

 

[WaitingForUser]

It isn't the cap, it's the irresponsible GMs who don't take it into account.

I’m glad you piped up because you are actually one of people I was describing in my OP. Let me put it this way if Keith who you go on and on about was only making 1.5 would you complain he was on the team?

 

[Little Fury]

I’m glad you piped up because you are actually one of people I was describing in my OP. Let me put it this way if Keith who you go on and on about was only making 1.5 would you complain he was on the team?

Do you think people didn't complain about players before there was a cap?

 

[Drivesaitl]

It's fun to discuss it and try to find solutions to the remaining cap but when people start to take it personally, as if it was there own money, degrading the player, trying to find fault on how " worthy" they are of the contract. That is the time to walk away.
The cap is only causing problems for fans because they make it their problem even though they have no way to solve it in any tangible way.
So they cause their own mental anguish because of it.
But, if they want to be miserable, let them be miserable. Walk away and don't get involve in the toxic discussions that doesn't solve anything at end of the day.
Happy for the players and get ready to watch some hockey in a couple months!

Not really, I think look at the OP again. Its no longer feasible for a fan to JUST look at the player. One must also look and gauge whether the player is going to be worth their cap, because cap is finite, and that you know it impacts team, how successful then can be, what their top end and TDL adds can be and so on. So that its not mental anguish, bleating, its all fans of all pro sports doing this now, because the capspace and contract price is now another very critical stat. One of the most important.

Definining that as "miserable" is not required, and its a bit unkind way to look at it. People focusing on sticker price are just kicking tires, being evaluative, and not wanting to buy the first car they see on the lot.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Do you think people didn't complain about players before there was a cap?

Somebody ask Paul Coffey, and Mark Messier, and Grant Fuhr...hehe

 

[MoontoScott]

I've always said that the cap is designed to protect NHL owners from themselves.

 

[oilers'72]

We had a bunch of minor millionaire owners who, albeit a valued stop gap, didn't have the money to compete in a no cap world. They led the charge on having a cap. Now we have a billionaire who could spend money on keeping and obtaining stars, but he can't due to the cap.

So, we got stuck twice.

 

[WaitingForUser]

Do you think people didn't complain about players before there was a cap?

Yes they absolutely did but it was usually only for a few days and then they moved on. Now it dominates the conversation regarding a player every time they are mentioned.

 

[McDrai]

It would be nice if the NHL awarded an amnesty buyout to each team every once in a while. I know this was done a few years ago

 

[bobbythebrain]

Cap is good.
Movement clauses are bad

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

It would be nice if the NHL awarded an amnesty buyout to each team every once in a while. I know this was done a few years ago

Give up a pick for a amnesty buyout?

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

I’m glad you piped up because you are actually one of people I was describing in my OP. Let me put it this way if Keith who you go on and on about was only making 1.5 would you complain he was on the team?

If our GM had negotiated Chicago's GM to retain salary to a more reasonable price then no, I wouldn't complain.